Last week, three female students were sexually assaulted in Madison. Last Sunday at the Super Bowl in a choreographed dance move, Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's shirt, exposing her breast. In the United States, about one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.
These events may appear to be unconnected, but they are all warning signs and windows into a culture that accepts and perpetuates violence against women. Sexual assault is a product of a society that blurs the line between sex and violence.
The Jackson/Timberlake incident has caused huge stir in the media and throughout the country. Parents have complained by the thousand, and Michael Powell, head of the Federal Communications Commission, has launched an investigation of the participating companies. The most disturbing element of the incident and the ensuing scandal, however, is what is lacking from the debates. Families are upset about the nudity-a split-second flash of skin that many kids quite likely wouldn't have noticed if it were not for the uproar. But what has not garnered a lot of debate is the violent overtone of the gesture-a young man ripping off a young woman's shirt in what was meant to be the climax of a sexy song. The significance of the event is not about the individuals themselves. Justin Timberlake did not violate Janet Jackson-what is at stake is the symbolic power of the act and their power as celebrities in defining what is sexy and appropriate. It is a compelling illustration of the blurring of the line between what is sexy or daring and what is intrusive and violent. No one has talked about this essentially because we are so accustomed to these violations of women's bodies. We are bombarded in the popular media with images that portray women as powerless objects-through advertising, video games or increasing amounts of violent pornography.
Three women in three days were sexually assaulted in and around the campus. One woman was pulled into a car while walking home by two men who had gone out \looking for a prostitute,"" one woman was followed into her apartment, and the third woman was assaulted in her own dormitory. All three of these incidents show intense violations of spaces that ought to be safe for women. They are illustrative of the inescapable and pervasive nature of a culture used to sexual and gendered violence.
Reported sexual assaults happen every school year, and while the timing of these has created more of a public stir, in general public reaction is brief. Women take extra precautions and perhaps there are a few added police patrols, but the attacks will essentially be viewed as just another crime. Those lucky enough never to have been direct victims will thank their stars or perhaps falsely congratulate themselves for having never been unfortunate enough to get into a situation of brutalization. However, Dean of Students Luoluo Hong summed it up correctly when she said that women shouldn't be afraid to walk at night because there are not precautions that can be taken to prevent things like this. So we feel worried and mad and then we go on. But these assaults are not random; they are not simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time-rather, it is a case of being born of the ""wrong"" gender. Violence against woman is at an epidemic level both in this country and the world but we tend to either blame the victim-""Why was she alone?""-or act as if sexual assaults are unconnected.
Domestic abuse is the most intimate and the most common manifestation of violence against women. It is an attempt by one individual to dominate another, and in 90 percent of the cases the abuser is a man. Domestic abuse is a logical manifestation of a society that blurs the line between love and dominance.
Violence describes the cultural roots of abuse. ""We live in a male dominated society with a history that not only encouraged men to treat their wives/daughters as property, but laws have also enforced it. Countless laws and cultural mores have perpetuated the oppression of women. Gender socialization from a very young age also helps perpetuate this though the generations"" (www.enddomesticviolence.com). Domestic abuse is perpetuated by silence-of society, of the justice system and of people unwilling to question norms.
Sexual assaults are part of a patriarchal and oppressive culture that perpetuates systematic violence toward women. Images in the media of sex, defined with violence or women's powerlessness, and our own unwillingness to draw connections between our beliefs about gender roles and the everyday acts of violence committed against women prop up this appalling system.
